Antelope Canyon in October

[oleg_lempert2]

<p>Hi,<br>

Has anyone been to Upper Antelope Canyon in the beginning of October? My trip to this place last May was a sheer disaster. Went with photo tour, paid over $50, got no pictures. It was so crowded that I had place to put the tripod.<br>

I will be in Page area again on October 1 and 2nd. I wonder if I should attempt it again. I read somewhere that crowds are thinner at that time of the year. But how about a beam? Will it still be there?<br>

I got nice pics from Lower canyon back in May. No crowds. Easy and fun. However, no light beam.<br>

Thanks</p>

[orias]

<p>I was there on an October 22 in 2007 and there were no beams. But, I was able to set up a tripod as it wasn't too crowded, but yo udo need to be pretty fast with your compositions.</p>

[jim_momary]

<p>Speaking from a science position, this should work.<br>

Consider the summer solstice, i.e first day of summer and the maximum altitude for the sun of any year's date at noon. In 2009 that is June 21 at 11:44 GMT (UTC).<br>

If you go 30 days prior, e.g. May 22, the sun will follow exactly the same track in the sky as it does 30 days post the summer solstice, i.e. July 21. So extrapolating ad infinitum, April 19 matches August 23, etc.<br>

As an example -<br>

Suppose beams hypothetically occur on April 10th, which is 10 weeks and 2 days before the first day of summer. Theoretically, September 1st should be the same, which is 10 weeks and 2 days after the first day of summer.<br>

The arc the sun follows in the sky merely rises and falls seasonally, but the spring replicates the fall, one is ascending while the other is descending.<br>

That's my limited understanding of celestial mechanics.<br>

Jim.</p>

[john_mcmillin]

<p>It's a bit ironic, isn't it, that you have to plan ahead for months and hope for good luck to successfully shoot this over-popular and over-populated canyon. Yes, it's grand, but don't forget that almost every watercourse that crosses the Colorado Plateau creates some kind of narrows along its way. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of narrows whose depths reach hundreds of feet. And most of those probably see no more than a handful of photographers per year.<br>

I've seen lovely photos from Antelope. It's become a sort of "compusory exercise" for landscapers, but it's really not a singular feature like Niagra Falls or the Grand Canyon. Those who do their own research and take a chance on less familiar canyons will be rewarded.</p>

[john_mcmillin]

<p>It's a bit ironic, isn't it, that you have to plan ahead for months and hope for good luck to successfully shoot this over-popular and over-populated canyon. Yes, it's grand, but don't forget that almost every watercourse that crosses the Colorado Plateau creates some kind of narrows along its way. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of narrows whose depths reach hundreds of feet. And most of those probably see no more than a handful of photographers per year.<br>

I've seen lovely photos from Antelope. It's become a sort of "compulsory exercise" for landscapers, but it's really not a singular feature like Niagra Falls or the Grand Canyon. Those who do their own research and take a chance on less familiar canyons will be rewarded.</p>